Island Hopping on a Resort Ship, Direct Flights to Myanmar and Vintage Posters from Picture This

…at least, I want to be! The stylish, boutique-y Alila Hotels and Resorts group is launching a new “property,” a phinisi—aka an Indonesian two-masted sailing ship—called the Alila Purnama. Starting in December, the liveaboard vessel will set sail through waters off Indonesia’s remote West Papua province for an inaugural six-day island-hopping expedition. With three decks, four cabins and one master suite, the roomy ship can carry 10 passengers and 16 staff members, with the latter ready to wait on the former hand and foot. If you’re a certified diver, you can head underwater straight off the boat, but the Purnama also houses a licensed PADI dive center offering advanced courses. There are also plenty of options for those who prefer to say on top of the sea. It’s rough, you know, when your options are to lounge atop an oversized daybed, watch a DVD in the kitted-out library, take advantage of the on-board spa therapist or ask to be taken to a deserted beach nearby. The six-day trip comes in at HK$418,608 for 10 people, so a jaw-dropping $40K per head—not including transportation to Bali. This is the life, yes. But it’ll cost you.Visit www.alilahotels.com/purnama for more about the boat's maiden voyage.

Layovers are for suckers: Hong Kong’s intrepid travelers no longer have to fly through Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur to make it to Myanmar. From January 9 onwards, Dragonair plans to operate four flights a week straight from HKIA to Yangon, the Burmese state’s largest city. The 3.5-hour flights depart Hong Kong at 9:20pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and return from Yangon at 1am (woo-hoo, red-eye!) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Roundtrip economy-class tickets will cost about $7,000. As the country moves to distance itself from a past full of violent upheaval, military juntas and human rights violations—with moves like the free election of democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi in April—international tourists have been finding more and more reasons to visit. The consequences: Burma is rapidly morphing from an off-the-beaten-track haunt for the adventurous to a place accessible and appealing to a wide audience. My advice? Go ASAP. Once the flights are approved by the government, book via www.dragonair.com.